WASHINGTON, February 18, 2026—The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), home of the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, has issued a guarantee to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in new lending to small businesses, including women-led businesses, and climate-finance related projects in Egypt.
The three-year, $550 million guarantee issued to First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) will cover the risk of expropriation of reserves held by the bank’s subsidiary at the Central Bank of Egypt and increase the bank's lending capacity by reducing the risk-weight assigned to its reserves at the central bank from 100 percent to zero percent. That will enable First Abu Dhabi Bank to make up to $550 million in new loans for climate finance projects and lending to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including those led by women.
“This guarantee and our partnership with First Abu Dhabi Bank underscore our dedication to advancing sustainable economic development and resilience in the Middle East and North Africa region,” said Tsutomu Yamamoto, MIGA Managing Director. “By facilitating access to finance and promoting inclusive growth, this guarantee helps to set the stage for additional economic growth in Egypt and the broader region."
While Egypt’s economy has stabilized in recent years, the nation continues to face vulnerability to shocks and persistent cost pressures. Small enterprises continue to struggle to access finance, with the MSME financing gap at 19.8 percent of GDP in 2025. MIGA’s guarantee will support and strengthen a growing private bank in a financial sector dominated by state-owned banks.
The project represents MIGA’s second capital optimization project in Egypt and highlights MIGA’s strategic focus on expanding the scope of its capital optimization guarantees to Middle East and North Africa regional banks as they expand their footprint across the region and scale up their operations.
About First Abu Dhabi Bank
Headquartered in Abu Dhabi with a global footprint beyond 20 markets, FAB is the finance and trade gateway to the Middle East and North Africa region. With total assets of AED 1.40 trillion ($382 billion) as of December 2025, FAB is among the world’s largest banking groups. The bank provides financial expertise to its wholesale and retail client franchise across three business units: Investment Banking & Markets, Wholesale Banking, and Personal, Business, Wealth & Privileged Client Banking Group.
About the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform
Initiated in 2024, the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform consolidates guarantee products and experts from across the World Bank Group at MIGA. It provides a simplified and comprehensive menu of guarantee solutions, enabling clients to select the instrument that best suits their needs. The platform streamlines processes, removes redundancies, and provides greater accessibility by de-risking investments in developing countries. Its goal is to boost the World Bank Group’s annual guarantee issuance to $20 billion by 2030.
For more information about the guarantee platform, please visit: https://www.worldbank.org/wbgguarantees
Stay updated and follow us at https://x.com/MIGA and https://www.linkedin.com/company/wb-miga
Contact: In Washington: Elizabeth Howton, ehowton [at] worldbankgroup.org
WASHINGTON, February 18, 2026—The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), home of the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, has issued a guarantee to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in new lending to small businesses, including women-led businesses, and climate-finance related projects in Egypt.
The three-year, $550 million guarantee issued to First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) will cover the risk of expropriation of reserves held by the bank’s subsidiary at the Central Bank of Egypt and increase the bank's lending capacity by reducing the risk-weight assigned to its reserves at the central bank from 100 percent to zero percent. That will enable First Abu Dhabi Bank to make up to $550 million in new loans for climate finance projects and lending to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including those led by women.
“This guarantee and our partnership with First Abu Dhabi Bank underscore our dedication to advancing sustainable economic development and resilience in the Middle East and North Africa region,” said Tsutomu Yamamoto, MIGA Managing Director. “By facilitating access to finance and promoting inclusive growth, this guarantee helps to set the stage for additional economic growth in Egypt and the broader region."
While Egypt’s economy has stabilized in recent years, the nation continues to face vulnerability to shocks and persistent cost pressures. Small enterprises continue to struggle to access finance, with the MSME financing gap at 19.8 percent of GDP in 2025. MIGA’s guarantee will support and strengthen a growing private bank in a financial sector dominated by state-owned banks.
The project represents MIGA’s second capital optimization project in Egypt and highlights MIGA’s strategic focus on expanding the scope of its capital optimization guarantees to Middle East and North Africa regional banks as they expand their footprint across the region and scale up their operations.
About First Abu Dhabi Bank
Headquartered in Abu Dhabi with a global footprint beyond 20 markets, FAB is the finance and trade gateway to the Middle East and North Africa region. With total assets of AED 1.40 trillion ($382 billion) as of December 2025, FAB is among the world’s largest banking groups. The bank provides financial expertise to its wholesale and retail client franchise across three business units: Investment Banking & Markets, Wholesale Banking, and Personal, Business, Wealth & Privileged Client Banking Group.
About the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform
Initiated in 2024, the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform consolidates guarantee products and experts from across the World Bank Group at MIGA. It provides a simplified and comprehensive menu of guarantee solutions, enabling clients to select the instrument that best suits their needs. The platform streamlines processes, removes redundancies, and provides greater accessibility by de-risking investments in developing countries. Its goal is to boost the World Bank Group’s annual guarantee issuance to $20 billion by 2030.
For more information about the guarantee platform, please visit: https://www.worldbank.org/wbgguarantees
Stay updated and follow us at https://x.com/MIGA and https://www.linkedin.com/company/wb-miga
Contact: In Washington: Elizabeth Howton, ehowton [at] worldbankgroup.org